Bust of Hipolit Cegielski made of bronze.
Bust carved by Rafał Nowak, a famous Poznań sculptor.
Hippolytus Cegielski 1813-1868.
On January 6, 1813, Gaspar Józef Hipolit Cegielski was born in Ławki near Trzemeszno – he was an outstanding philologist, industrialist, publisher and social and political activist.
He studied in Trzemeszno, went to middle school of St. Mary Magdalene in Poznan. He graduated in Berlin, where he obtained a PhD in Philosophical Sciences.
After graduation, he worked as a teacher in a gymnasium of St. Maria Magdalena in Poznań. In 1841 he married Welentyna Mottych. The Cegielski family had 3 children, son Stefan and daughters Karolina and Zofia.
To support his family, Cegielski took up the trade and, thanks to the financial help of Józef Łukaszewicz and Jan Suchorzewski, founded on September 30, 1846 a shop with iron products in the Bazaar in Poznań, which he then transformed into a workshop repairing tools, in particular plows and a plow.
In 1850, he opened a repair workshop on ul. Butelska, and in 1855 from Bazaar moved to ul. Goat, where he opened a factory of agricultural tools and machines. Despite the strong competition of German entrepreneurs and often supported by the authorities, his factory developed very well, and its products were sold not only in the Grand Duchy of Poznań, but also exported to the Kingdom of Poland, deep into Prussia and Silesia. In 1859, without permission to further expand the plant at Kozia, he opened at ul. Strzelecka one of the most modern foundries and assembly plants at that time, which allowed to expand the factory’s range also with industrial equipment, and thus significantly strengthened its position and gave it enormous development opportunities.
A huge amount of duties had a serious impact on his health. Despite his young age, Hipolit Cegielski died in Poznań on November 30, 1868. To care for the property and children (Cegielski’s wife died 9 years earlier), he called his close friend, Władysław Bentkowski. He was buried in the cemeteries of St. Martin. The necropolis ceased to exist during World War II. Unfortunately, Cegielski’s mortal remains were not found. Currently, at the cemetery of Meritorious Wielkopolans on the Hill of Saint Adalbert in Poznań, there is an obelisk commemorating him with the ground from the St. Martin’s cemetery.